Bowling-pin.



fi. MILLER;

BOWLING PIN;

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28. 1911..

INVENTOR Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

WQIINESSES:

. ATTORNEYJ UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BICHAQD MILLER, OF APPLETON', WISCONSIN.

BOWLING-PIN.

Patented Feb. 26, 1918.

1,257,377. Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filedrebruary 28, 1917; Serial No. 151,423.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD MiLLER, citizen of the United States, residing at Appleton, county of Outagamie, and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Bowling-Pins, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bowling pins and processes of making the same, this application being a continuation in part of a former application filed by me September 21, 1916, Serial No. 121,365.

The object of my invention is to provide means for utilizing short maple slab sections constituting a by-product of other articles of manufacture, whereby such slab sections may be combined to form a balanced bowling pin of peculiar and unusual strength and durability conformable in all cases to a predetermined standard of weight.

I have found that wooden blocks substantially the same in appearance differ greatly in weight. Therefore it is not only neces sary to select slabs or members of substantially uniform weight with which to con struct the body of any given bowling pin but it is also necessary, in order to provide sets of pins each of which conforms to a certain standard of weight, to devise means whereby in the assembl of the pieces or sections, the central cavity may be formed which increases or decreases in size in the different pins in inverse proportion to the weight of the material. The particular manner in which I assemble these several sections or members in my improved pin enables me to regulate the size of the cavity during the operation of assembling the final section or member in position, all of the other members having been previously associated and firmly glued together.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of the slab sections from which my improved bowling pin is made.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of a bowling in having a body formed of relatively lig t material constructed in accordance with my invention with dotted lines indicating the original contour of the sections or pieces of which it is composed.

Fig. 3 is a similar view partly in elevation illustrating my improved pin as constructed of relatively heavy material in the body portion. I

Figs. 4; and 5 are cross sections drawn generally on lines 4-4, 55 respectively of Fig. 2, and showing slight modifications.

Like parts are identified by the same reference characters throughout the several vlews.

A pair of slab sections A are first tested for uniformity in weight. I- then face off their inner surfaces and glue them together as indicated at B in Fig. 2. A socket IC is then formed by boring a hole in one end of the block, composed of the two sections A,--A. A handle section D is then formed with a cylindrical end portion E adapted to closely fit the socket C. This cylindrical portion E is then driven into the socket to a position in which the pin will conform to a predetermined standard of weight. For

example, where the sections A are of minimum weight, the shank portion E of the handle will be driven substantially to the bottom of the socket O as illustrated in Fig. 2. But if the sections A,A are heavy, the shank section E will be only driven into the socket leaving a cavity of considerable size between the lower end of the shank E and the bottom O of the socket as shown in the completed pin comprises three pieces or sections, two of wh1ch comprise the body of the pin While the third forms the handle 0 upper portion. If desired, dowel pins (Figs. 4 and 5), may be employed to mor securely connect the sections A,A with each other, but where the sections are properly glued, these pins F will not be necessary.

Where the slabs are thin, the body may be composed of three sections as shown in Fig. 5, in which two slab sections A ,A are combined with a third or filler section G.

The filler section will be used in cases where the slabs are not thick enough to enable me to form a pin from two slabs meeting at the center or in a plane substantially intersecting the center of the pin.

Where a filler section G is employed, said section will preferably be made narrow enough so that the handle section D will extend entirely across it and securely engage in the slab sections'A',A as indicated at e in Fig. 5. Therefore it is obvious that the handle section shank E will cross the o1nt formed between the slab sections A and the filler sections G.. This is not essential for the reason that the glue will ordinarily hold the sections together so that splitting will never occur in the meeting surfaces, the glue having greater resistance than the fiber of the wood.

.The slabs constitute the white wood of the maple tree from which they are cut and this makes them particularly valuable for my purposes since the white wood of a maple tree not only makes the pin of neater appearance, but it also resists impacts without splitting better than the heart of the tree. My improvement, however, enables me to employ for the upper portion or handle, wood from the heart of the tree or wood of different varieties, thereby producing pins the bodies of which are white and the upper portions or handles colored to suit the requirements of the user. The heart wood of a maple tree is a reddish tinge which contrasts very neatly with the white wood of the body portion. I preferably make the upper or neck and head portions of the pin from a separate piece, for the reason that these portions belng small in cross section, a considerable quantity of the white wood would be wasted if the entire pin were made from two pieces or slabs instead of three. B makin the pin in three pieces and utilizing other material for the neck and head portions of the pin, I am enabled to economize in the use of the white wood to the fullest possible extent.

It will be understood that inasmuch as the handle section is preferably driven into the socket G preparatory to shaping the bowling pin in the lathe, it will be necessary to determine the weight of the various sections proportionately to their volume before gluing them together. This, however, can be very easily done, since only approximate uniformity in weight is required. The size of the block may be determined either by measurement or otherwise, and the weight for any given unit of volume may thus be easily computedwith sufiicient exactness to suit the requirements.

I claim 1. A bowling pin including a body portion composed of two sections glued together, in combination with neck and head portions formed in one piece with the neck portion socketed in the upper end of the body portion, the socket in the body portion extending vertically thereinand terminating above the lower ends of said sections, whereby the lower ends of the sections may have flat bearing areas glued together from one side of the pin to the other.

2. A bowling pin having in combination a body portion formed in two sections having rigidly connected meeting faces and provided with a socket at the upper end of the body portion extending 'vertlcally into the body across the joint between said two sections, and an upper portion provided with a tenon fitting said socket and rigidly connected with the walls thereof.

3. A bowlin pin having in combination a plurality of body sections glued together in a vertical plane, and an upper section provided with a cylindrical lower end portion socketed in the upper end of the body and glued to a plurality of body sections. 4. A bowlin pin having in combination a plurality of %)ody sections glued together in a vertical plane, and an upper section provided with a cylindrical lower end portion socketed in the upper end of the body and glued to a plurality of body sections, the socket in the body extending across the joint between the meeting faces of the sections.

5. A set of bowling pins, each including a body portion composed of a pluralit of sections glued together ina vertical p ane in combination with a handle section socketed in the upper end of the body portion, said body portion having a socket of sulficient length to receive the handle section at a depth suitable to conform the in to a predetermined standard of weight, and the handle sections of the different pins being disposed in said sockets at difierent depths.

6. A set of bowling pins each including a body portion composed of a plurality of sections glued together in a vertical plane and havinga ocket extendin into the body portion from the upper en and crossing the joint between the two sections, in combination with a handle ortion provided with a shank fitted to said socket and extendin to a sufiicient depth therein to conform the body portion to a predetermined standard of weight, said pins each having its handle shank of a length and depth within the socket equal to that required to conform the in to a predetermined standardto which eac of the other pins conforms.

7. A set-of bowling pins, each includin the combination of a body portion composed of two sections substantially alike in weight for equal volumes of material, said sections being glued together in a vertical plane and having a socket at its upper end through which said vertical plane extends, and a handle portion provided with a shank fitted to said socket and extending into the latter to a sufiicient depth to conform the pin to a standard weight, said pins each havin its handle shank of a length and depth within the socket equal to that required to conform the pin to a predetermined standard to which each of the other pins conforms.

8. The process of manufacturing bowling pins conforming to a predetermined standard of Weight, consisting; first, in reparing the body portion of the pin and orming a socket therein extending downwardly from its upper end; second, in forming a handle with a shank portion adapted to fit said socket; and third, in driving the handle shank into said socket and securing the same therein at a depth suflicient to conform the pin to a required standard of weight.

9. The process of manufacturing bowling pins consisting; first, in selecting a plurality of body sections havin substantially umform weight in proportlon to volume; second, facin said sections and gluing them together; t ird, forming a socket in one end of the block produced by gluing said sections together; fourth, forming a handle portion with a shank adapted to fit said socket; fifth securing said shank in the socket at a sufficient depth to conform the pin to the required standard of weight; sixth, shaping the stock in a lathe to the desired contour.

' In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RICHARD MILLER. Witnesses:

Lnvnan'rr 0. WHEELER,

0. C. WEBER. 

